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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Say what you will about the Food Network....

But, personally, I have found some very interesting (and delicious) recipes on the website and inspiring chefs who make me want to run into my kitchen and create something. Now with that said, there are most certainly those that annoy me to no end, who shall remain nameless, but I'm sure you can probably guess. There are others who get a bum-wrap because of their "time-saving" methods. Since I have a great love for cooking shows, I tend to take some of the TV personalities with a grain of salt, but me-oh-my some of the comments I have read on the reviews of recipes, makes me want to waggle my finger at the uppity-foodies.

I have wonderfully fond memories of hanging out with my mom on my parent's bed watching Julia Childs, Martin Yan and many others, every Saturday morning on the local PBS station. Later on when I had cable (though it was available when I was a preteen, my parents would not pay for it, which made for interesting conversation with my friends...Music video, what's that?) I would watch the emerging Food Network and the still wonderful PBS shows with my adolescent/preteen daughter, creating those same memories for her. More about my eldest daughter in another post.

When I was old enough to be somewhat trusted in the kitchen, I would pour over my mother's Betty Crocker 1960s cookbook and Better Homes and Garden (again 1960s) cookbook, among many others that I would create whatever seemed interesting and we had the ingrediants for. I am proud to say I made my very first cake at the age of 7 and it turned out perfectly! I chose it for the name, "Bonnie Butter Cake" from then on I was hooked, sometimes to the dismay of my family (mainly my older brothers). I was not always the best cook (even now there are times I completely mess something up)! Even today I will get a ribbing every once in a while for a Thanksgiving contribution of mashed potatoes that was more like potato soup. For the last 6 years (mostly) I have been to main cook for our family holiday festivities, sometimes my brothers are still surprised I can cook/bake. Geez, thanks guys :) When I was home sick from school, I would always feel better by the afternoon (even if I wasn't faking it) so into the kitchen I would go, usually to make cookies or pudding. Mmmmmm pudding!!! I can say one thing for sure, I so miss the built in oven at my parent's house. When I first moved out, I was so confused when my oven was on the floor! It was so hard to get hot dishes in and out! I've dumped at least a handful of casseroles on the floor just because of the stooping over!

To this day, I still pour over those same cookbooks (I have my own copies now - 1960s of course) as well as the shelves and shelves of my other cookbooks, reading them from cover to cover, not only to find recipes, but to refresh on techniques and some are just plain good reads.

So, this is my newest blog. Not sure exactly what direction it will go, food, life or what. I have a political blog that I hardly contribute to due to the ease of Facebook to post to, though that may change. I will attempt to keep politics out of this one, only because this blog is more about me and finding myself. The "why" to that statement will come in a later post.

I hope you enjoyed the read, as I enjoyed writing it. I have found writing to be very cathartic. I hope you come back, because I have a feeling this blog will be like the quintessential box of chocolates, "you never know what you are gonna get." :)